Lalo the Manatee Is Back in the Wild After a Boat Strike Left Her With Spinal Fractures, and a Series of Surgeries Removed the Bone Fragments
A manatee rescued with a fractured spine is back in Florida waters.
Lalo, rescued in February 2025 with spinal fractures from a boat strike, has been returned to the wild after a series of surgeries and more than a year of rehabilitation in SeaWorld Orlando's care. SeaWorld announced her return on Facebook on September 17, and WFTV Channel 9 published SeaWorld Orlando's fuller statement on Sunday. SeaWorld says she made a full recovery.
Lalo on a blue tarp beside a truck, in a photo WFTV published with its report. Photo: via WFTV Channel 9
How she came in
SeaWorld and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission rescued Lalo together on February 27, 2025, from Hunter Spring Run in Kings Bay. In SeaWorld Orlando's words, as quoted by WFTV, "At the time of rescue, she was severely emaciated and suffering from healing watercraft-related injuries."
Kings Bay, along Florida's Crystal River, is also where Citron, the manatee SeaWorld released in August, was rescued. Laughing Place describes the area as known for its manatee population.
What the boat did
Veterinary examinations found spinal fractures tied to the boat strike, and a CT scan identified multiple bone fragments. SeaWorld says those fragments "were successfully removed during a series of surgeries."
After the operations, WFTV reports, the work shifted to long-term rehabilitation: restoring her health and her strength. SeaWorld Orlando's animal care and veterinary teams monitored her throughout.
Rescue team members in SeaWorld Rescue, FWC and U.S. Fish and Wildlife shirts hold a manatee in a sling in shallow water beside a concrete wall. Photo: via WFTV Channel 9
A full recovery
"Following months of specialized veterinary care and rehabilitation, Lalo made a full recovery and regained excellent body condition," SeaWorld Orlando said. She was judged "healthy and strong enough to return to her natural habitat and was recently released back into the wild."
SeaWorld's own Facebook post about her return, on September 17, places her only "back in Florida waters" after "more than a year of dedicated rehabilitation." Neither that post, SeaWorld's statement to WFTV nor WFTV's report gives a release date or says where she went back into the water. SeaWorld's post went up more than a year and a half after her rescue.
The bigger picture: Lalo is the third SeaWorld Orlando manatee case we have covered in less than a month. Citron went back into Crystal River on August 27, and a manatee from the Indian River Lagoon near Titusville lost a flipper to a crab trap and was recovering at the park when that case was reported earlier this month. SeaWorld said in May that its rescue teams in Orlando, San Diego and San Antonio had passed 43,000 animal rescues, counting back to 1965.
Sources
- WFTV Channel 9, Rehabilitated manatee Lalo returns to the wild after boat strike recovery (Beatriz Oliveira, September 20, 2026)
- Laughing Place, SeaWorld Orlando Successfully Returns Manatee to Wild (Tony Betti, August 31, 2026)
- SeaWorld on Facebook, Lalo's return video (September 17, 2026)
- SeaWorld, SeaWorld Reaches Milestone of 43,000 Animal Rescues (May 18, 2026)
Image credits: Both photos as published by WFTV Channel 9. The station did not credit a photographer, and the rescue team members in the frame wear SeaWorld Rescue, FWC and U.S. Fish and Wildlife shirts.
